In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Titus 1:2
Most people seem to think that the word ‘hope’ is just another word for wish. And in some ways that we use the word, I suppose it is. I hope we have nice weather this summer. I hope my grandkids get good report cards from school next month. You get the point, there is not much more than wishing when we use hope as a verb, as Murray McCandless pointed out to us from the platform on Sunday. But as he also said the Bible uses the word ‘hope’ as a noun, and it is one of the most beautiful nouns in the entire Book. 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells has that for the Christian, there are three great pillars: faith, hope, and charity (love). Faith is what brought us into our salvation, love is how we live our salvation, and hope is the eternal value of our salvation.
The world knows so little of the hope that our text speaks of, as its songs and stories reveal. No wonder so many young people feel hopeless and feel that life is so pointless that they are drawn to depression and suicide. So many seem to adopt the attitude of such philosophers as Nietzsche and Sartre who conclude that our existence is pointless and absurd, with no hope in the world. How wonderfully different is the mindset of the Christian who dwells on the words of Hebrews 6:18,19: ‘we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil’. Our hope of eternal life is so much more precious when we consider not only that it is guaranteed, but also on Who provides that guarantee.
Our text reminds us that our hope of eternal life is a promise from God. The Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, the Great I Am, stands behind this promise. And He made this promise before He ever made us or the world we live in. The God Who transcends time and space and matter offers us a promise that does the same. And did you notice how carefully Paul points out to Titus that this God in Whom our hope rests cannot lie? Titus was working among some folks who had a reputation of being less than careful with their facts. How comforting to know that our God is nothing like that. Since before the world began, and long after it ceases to be, our God will never have told a lie nor have broken a promise.
Are you feeling comfortable in resting in our glorious hope of eternal life? That is how our Lord wants us to feel today and every day. – Jim MacIntosh